Amid the Canadian government's confrontation with the digital giants over the Online News Act, the former Facebook CEO in New Zealand and Australia, Stephen Schellerman, warned that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg enjoys too much power in foreign countries.

Schellerman wondered during a television interview, "Do you really want this entity to be able to interfere with the information system in your country?"

The Online News Act aims for the federal government to force giant digital companies to pay media outlets for content that is shared, previewed, or reused on their platforms. In response to the law, Meta and Google announced the blocking of Canadian news.

Schellerman said, "It is suspected that the fight with Canada is part of a fundamental principle within the company, and that fighting any regulation anywhere in the world has now become the default stance for Meta," asserting that every small battle is a small victory for big tech platforms in a much larger battle they are fighting worldwide against regulation.

However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will not back down and criticized Meta and Google’s decision to block Canadian news for some users. Trudeau told CTV National News reporter Vanessa Lee during a press conference, "The fact that Facebook is unwilling to acknowledge the hard work journalists across the country do undermines the fabric of our democracy."

The harsh words from Trudeau came shortly after a press conference by Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, who announced that the federal government would suspend all its advertisements on Facebook.

Meta responded through its official spokesperson, who described the statement on the Online News Act as a flawed legislation that ignores the realities of how the company’s platforms actually work. However, all this might just be a very risky stare-down between the Canadian government and Meta, Schellerman said, because the social media giant also used the same tactics in Australia, adding, "They were just trying to show that they can cause trouble if they really want to."

But he also issued a warning, saying Canadians need to seriously consider the role Meta plays in society and whether it is truly in the country’s interest. Schellerman said, "If China launched a cyberattack similar to an attempt to manipulate the Canadian information system and its ability for people to receive news, that would be an international incident, but here we have an organization doing exactly that," he discussed that Australia faces a similar situation.